Two: Net Results, Part 2 - Get More Good Work from PK and Goaltenders
After giving up a power play goal in two chances at Minnesota, the Kraken penalty killers kept the scoresheet clean on three Dallas power plays Sunday. Those PK efforts were one reason why the game stayed within reach until the final minutes of regulation.
“We’ve been together for three to four years now,” said Larsson about some familiar faces in the PK units, led by assistant coach Dave Lowry for the third straight year. “We are clicking and comfortable with the system. It’s definitely been a positive so far.”
Those PK units do include newcomer Chandler Stephenson pairing up front with penalty-killer extraordinaire Brandon Tanev, who are getting acclimated to each other. The PK forwards, for instance, do some switching of covering an opponent or area. It requires reps and communication to sync on such split-second changes. Tanev, for what it's worth, along with fourth-line mates Yanni Gourde and Tye Kartye, have been the most effective forward trio during even-strength play on this trip).
Speaking of keeping the game in reach, Philipp Grubauer racked up his first quality start of the season and recovered from the deadly two Dallas first-period scores within 13 seconds to turn away seven Grade-A chances from there. Two of those chances were breakaways from legit Dallas goal scorers Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment. In Saturday’s win, Joey Daccord made 34 saves and two more unofficial but major stops in the victorious shootout. Kraken fans can anticipate and hope for continued stellar work by the SEA goalie tandem.
Three: Know the Foe - Nashville Dropped First Two Games
The Predators, who made the playoffs last season, signed big free-agent names on July 1. GM and the franchise’s first-ever coach, Barry Trotz, inked Cup winners Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to sizeable contracts and Nashville coach Andrew Brunette has put them on the wings with holdover Colton Sissons in between. Marchessault has a pair of assists, and Stamkos is zip for points so far. Beware both getting shots off Tuesday and the same for the roster that includes the always-dangerous Filip Forsberg and a third line of young and talented forwards. Brunette liked his team’s effort in road losses at Dallas and Detroit this past week, but he definitely wants his squad to go to shoot-first mode more often, thinking too much looking to set up teammates is occurring.
“We added some really good scorers, and sometimes we're deferring to be a little cuter than a little harder,” said Brunette on the Nashville website Saturday in Detroit. “We all know in this league, it's usually harder that wins, not cuter."
